NEW YORK:
The Indian cricket team on Wednesday started its preparations for the 2024 T20 World Cup in the USA. After the heartbreak of the ODI World Cup 2023, where India lost to Australia in the final in Ahmedabad, the 2024 T20 World Cup will provide Rohit Sharma and Co. a shot at redemption. India won the inaugural 2008 T20 World Cup but since then, it has always returned empty-handed. In fact, when it comes to ICC events, India have not been able to win a single trophy since clinching the 2013 Champions Trophy, when MS Dhoni was till the captain.
The 2024 T20 World Cup, thus, is a great chance for India to end the drought. However, a report in News18 has claimed that the Indian cricket team is not happy with the practice facilities being provided in the USA, one of the hosts of the marquee event.
“Everything is makeshift – from pitches to other facilities. Safe to say everything is very average in nature. The team has raised their concerns,” the report quotes a source as saying. It added that coach Rahul Dravid is unhappy with the “average” facilities in Cantiague Park, where the side is training. The report also claimed that it has reached out to ICC regarding the same. “There has been no complaint or concern expressed regarding the practice facilities at Cantiague Park by any team,” the ICC said this.
After two months of intense competitive cricket under night lights, the Indian cricket team, sans Virat Kohli, began its preparations for the T20 World Cup with a morning training session, keeping in mind the 10.30am starts for all its preliminary games. Kohli took a break for personal work after RCB’s IPL ouster and in all likelihood, he will join the squad by Friday. But it is not clear if he would be able to take part in the only warm-up game against Bangladesh on Saturday after a long flight.
Having played 90 per cent of the matches under lights in the scorching Indian summer, the idea would be to adjust to pleasant mornings where temperatures will hover between 25 to 27 degree celsius with very less humidity.
A white kookaburra in slightly windy mornings could be a challenge and to be prepared for that, the severely jet-lagged bodies need to get used to morning conditions. And this is why the support staff, before initiating the skills training (net sessions) on the practice pitches at a ground on the outskirts of the city, have decided to help the players acclimatise with the conditions
